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The Summit to Save Lives

Presented by the George W. Bush Institute

September 13-14, 2011|Washington, D.C.

Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon

The George W. Bush Institute, the U.S. Department of State, Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS Announce New Women’s Health Initiative.

Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon Partnership Expands Critically Needed Breast and Cervical Cancer Interventions in sub-Saharan Africa.

The George W. Bush Institute, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) will today announce Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon®, an innovative partnership to leverage public and private investment in global health to combat cervical and breast cancer – two of the leading causes of cancer death in women – in Sub–Saharan Africa and Latin America. Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon will expand the availability of vital cervical cancer screening and treatment and breast care education–especially for women most at risk of getting cervical cancer in developing nations because they are HIV-positive.

“It’s time to take the next step in building on the progress that has been made over the past decade in the fight against HIV and AIDS,” said President George W. Bush. “Many women who seek AIDS services also face the challenge of cancer. It’s not enough to save a woman from AIDS, if she is then left to die of another very preventable disease.”

The cervical cancer partnership will leverage the platform and resources of PEPFAR – established under President Bush and a cornerstone of President Obama’s Global Health Initiative (GHI) – and will draw from lessons learned in the significant scaling–up of access to HIV interventions in recent years. As breast cancer has not been linked to HIV, PEPFAR funds will not be used for direct support of breast cancer activities. However, other Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partners will leverage the PEPFAR platforms, using other sources of funding, to support breast cancer efforts.

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“Investing in women’s health is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon will save women’s lives and in turn help families and whole communities. Through this new partnership, the U.S. Government has committed an additional $10 million, which brings our total PEPFAR investment to $30 million over the next five years. Under the leadership of Secretary Clinton and U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby, the State Department is proud to join this important and ambitious partnership to address breast and cervical cancer globally,” said Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Ambassador–at–Large Global Women’s Issues.

Women whose immune systems are compromised by HIV are more likely to develop cervical cancer. Through PEPFAR, there is already screening and treatment of women at more than 250 clinics in 11 African countries. Through Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, PEPFAR has committed an additional $10 million, which will bring the total PEPFAR investment to $30 million over the next five years and ensure more women will be able to be screened and saved.

“Today the majority of women in Sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to critical breast and cervical cancer screening and treatment services and we must move quickly to address this growing epidemic,” said Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “The Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partnership builds on our long–standing efforts in Africa and globally to support innovative models that will save lives by detecting breast and cervical cancer earlier, when there is still time to treat it.”

With initial indications of interest, Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon expects to have commitments of up to $75 million across 5 years, which will grow to include additional participants and services. The goals are to reduce deaths from cervical cancer by an estimated 25% among women screened and treated through the initiative, significantly increase access to breast and cervical cancer prevention, screening and treatment programs, and create innovative models that can be scaled up and used globally.

This public–private initiative includes initial commitments from founding corporate participants Merck, BD, QIAGEN, Caris Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline and IBM.

“The rapid expansion of HIV prevention and treatment services over the past decade has saved millions of lives,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Uniting the efforts of two vital health movements means more women around the world will be reached with integrated?not isolated care.”

Infection with HIV weakens the immune system and reduces the body’s ability to fight infections that may lead to cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is 4-5 times more common among women living with HIV than women who are HIV-negative.

There is an urgent need to develop innovative and sustainable solutions to addressing women’s cancers in developing nations, where these diseases are often neglected and associated with stigmas that discourage women from accessing life-saving prevention, care and treatment programs. By leveraging the significant investments made in HIV prevention, care and treatment, it is possible to integrate simple, cost-effective preventions, screening and testing methods and dramatically reduce mortality and late-stage diagnosis of cervical cancer, while continuing to increase access to breast care education.

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Summit Overview

Only a decade ago, HIV, malaria, childhood pneumonia and other health conditions were a death sentence in Sub-Saharan Africa and other predominantly low-income, parts of the world. Streets of these major cities were clogged with coffins holding the bodies of those who had suffered. Hopelessness and despair gripped entire countries. While millions were dying in low-income countries from these infectious diseases, scientific advances provided lifesaving tools for prevention and treatment for these same illnesses in high-income countries. Where you were born determined if you would live or die.

The heaviest burden of disease in poor countries is shouldered by women and girls – mothers, caregivers and the providers of hope for happy, healthy families. When a mother dies, her children are up to 10 times more likely to die and are less likely to be fed or go to school. And girls suffer more than boys, perpetuating a vicious cycle of injustice and inequality.

Today, massive investments in global health initiated less than a decade ago have begun to turn the tide against major diseases, even in the poorest places on earth. Cities once burdened by death are now coming back to life, evidenced not only by progress in physical health, but by a resurgence of economic and cultural vitality as well. The investments of the United States government have led the way with strong bipartisan leadership and commitment to global health. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the largest international health initiative in history to combat a single disease, the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and other investments have saved and lifted up millions of lives.

Looking to the future, there is opportunity to do more. The investments of the American people have not only saved lives, they have built durable and strong health care structures and provided insights into how to improve the delivery of services. A pregnant woman visiting a PEPFAR supported clinic can receive antenatal care, be HIV tested and learn how to protect herself and her infant children from the bite of a mosquito that may carry malaria. Women receiving lifesaving medications for HIV can be tested, and if needed, treated for cervical cancer during regular visits to the clinic. By focusing on the health of a person, delivering care, and building on what has already been created in a more integrated way, even more lives can be saved and lifted up.

Through recent scientific advances in prevention, we are even closer to controlling HIV. By using new diagnostics tools for malaria along with inexpensive drugs and vaccines, death from the major diseases that cause fatal fevers in children can end. Interventions that cost pennies can ensure that mothers and their infants will live through birth. Using simple diagnostics, curative treatment and vaccines, we can begin to address cervical cancer.

Bringing together practitioners, policy makers, heads of state, community leaders, advocates and the armies of compassion who serve those in need, the Bush Institute’s Summit to Save Lives aims to put forth the philosophical foundations and concrete actions to create the next leap forward in global health, with a particular emphasis on women and children and the heart of happy, healthy families, communities and nations.

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Session I

September 13

Leveraging HIV Systems to Improve Cervical and Breast Cancer Control

Breast and cervical cancer claim the lives of hundreds of thousands of women in Africa and Latin America each year. Many women die without even knowing they have cancer, while others go undiagnosed or untreated until it is too late. In Sub- Saharan Africa, the frequency and severity of cervical cancer is related to HIV infection. This panel explores how cervical and breast cancers can be prevented, diagnosed and treated by building on platforms created by investments in HIV in Sub- Saharan Africa, and considers opportunities to integrate cervical and breast cancer programs into health care in Latin America.

Moderator

  • Jennifer Griffin
    National Security Correspondent, FOX News Channel

Panelists

    • Mrs. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, M.D., Ph.D.
      Chief Executive Officer, Peace and Love Hospitals
      President, Breast Care International

 

    • Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
      Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,
      National Institutes of Health

 

    • The Honorable Eric P. Goosby, M.D.
      Ambassador-at-Large and U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator,
      PEPFAR, U.S. Department of State

 

  • Groesbeck P. Parham, M.D.
    Co-Director, Cervical Cancer
    Prevention Program in Zambia

 

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Session II

September 14

Leveraging Malaria Platforms to Improve Family Health

The expansion of malaria programs throughout Sub-Saharan Africa has led to significantly expanded diagnosis and treatment resulting in a reduced number of cases and deaths. With the strong leadership of governments, including heads of state, the engagement of NGOs, including faith- and community-based groups, and the private sector, awareness of the causes and ways to prevent malaria has become part of daily life even in small villages throughout the subcontinent. Links between malaria interventions and mother and child health are strong. The expansion of effective programs has contributed to a significant reduction in child mortality. The use of rapid diagnostic tests for malaria can differentiate it from pneumonia at the community level, creating platforms to address the leading causes of fever deaths among children. Malaria control has been one of the global health success stories of the 21st century. This panel explores how the lessons learned and opportunities created from successes in malaria can be leveraged more broadly for global health, with a particular emphasis on maternal and child health.

Moderator

  • Barbara Bush
    Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder,
    Global Health Corps

Panelists

    • The Honorable Raymond G. Chambers
      United Nations Secretary-General’s
      Special Envoy for Malaria

 

    • Professor Awa Marie Coll-Seck, M.D.
      Executive Director, Roll Back Malaria Partnership

 

    • Bishop Dr. Sunday N. Onuoha
      Founder and President, Vision Africa

 

    • Steven C. Phillips, M.D., M.P.H.
      Medical Director, Global Issues and Projects,
      Exxon Mobil Corporation

 

    • Mrs. Joy Phumaphi
      Executive Secretary, African Leaders Malaria Alliance

 

  • The Honorable Raj Shah, M.D.
    Administrator, United States Agency for
    International Development

 

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Session III

September 14

Improving Health Outcomes for Women and Children Through Integrated Care

There has been significant progress in global health in the past decade, including childhood health. However, there has been significantly less progress in maternal and neonatal health. This panel explores opportunities to leverage investments in global health for mothers, infants and children as the heart of happy, healthy families, communities and nations, with a focus on maximizing the possibilities for integrating health care delivery.

Moderator

  • Christy Turlington Burns
    Director and Producer, “No Woman, No Cry”
    Founder, Every Mother Counts
    Global Maternal Health Advocate
    Student of Public Health
    Model

Panelists

    • Dean Julio Frenk, M.D.
      Dean of the Faculty, Harvard School of Public Health
      T & G Angelopoulos Professor of Public Health
      and International Development,
      Harvard Kennedy School of Government and
      Harvard School of Public Health

 

    • Mrs. Jeannette Kagame
      First Lady of the Republic of Rwanda

 

    • Luis Gomes Sambo, M.D.
      Regional Director for Africa, World Health Organization

 

  • The Honorable Melanne Verveer
    Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues,
    Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of State

 

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Closing Discussion

September 14

Action Steps to Advance Global Health for Women and Children

There has been significant progress in the last decade on global health. The U.S. Government has had a key leadership role in transforming the landscape. This panel explores the factors underlying the successes to date and how they have laid a foundation for future action in global health to save and lift up even more lives.

Moderator

  • The Honorable James K. Glassman
    Executive Director, George W. Bush Institute

Panelists

    • The Honorable Mark R. Dybul, M.D.
      Global Health Fellow, George W. Bush Institute
      Former U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator

 

  • Gayle Smith
    Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director,
    National Security Council

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